Hidden Behind The Mask
by Kagetsuki Tsukishiro
Summary: I hide behind the Mask that I created with my own two hands behind the illusion that my father created and others strengthened. But there is always an end to everything in this world... and it is time for the mask to disappear.


**Note: Beware of Sakura bashing. Might have some Uchiha bashing as well.**

**---**

_If everything meant nothing… but yet…in reality, nothing seems to be everything I have. So… when I have everything… I actually have nothing. And when I have nothing… it means that I have everything. So in reality neither everything nor nothing means anything at all._

_Kagetsuki Tsukishiro_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and any of its characters.**

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'blah' – Normal thoughts

'_blah'_ – Naruto's thoughts

'**blah' **– Kyuubi talking within Naruto's mind.

"Blah" – normal speech.

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Chapter I

What _is _the truth?

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The whiskered blonde stood there leaning against the wooden railing of the red bridge where Team 7 would normally wait. He tapped his foot impatiently as he glanced at his watch and let his mask drop for a moment. His eyes narrowed as he saw that it was already an hour past the time that they had agreed on and neither his jounin instructor nor his teammates, the Uchiha and his pink lapdog, were present. He held back a growl that struggled to get out before he put his hands together and formed a cross seal to create a chakra reinforced kage bunshin. He then, formed a single-handed seal before he disappeared without leaving a trace. Though the seal was just for formalities sake since he did not really need to use handseals for techniques that he had familiarized himself with. The blonde teen reappeared in his apartment, which was surprisingly neat. In fact, it sparkled with utter cleanliness. He smiled as he saw that there was not a single _speck _of dust within sight. Yes, he, Uzumaki Naruto was, in reality, a cleanliness freak. He walked towards his room and straight towards the wardrobe before he stripped off the hateful orange jump suit that he wore. It was the most disgusting colour in his opinion but he had not much of a choice but to wear it since he felt that it was the only colour that could reinforce the image of his mask, Uzumaki Naruto, dobe genin. He pulled out a long sleeved mesh shirt and slipped it on before he wore a fitting, black long sleeve shirt over it. He then put on some baggy black pants that did not make a single sound when he moved. He slipped off the blue sandals and replaced them with his black ones. The blonde teen walked over to his dressing table where he unlocked a drawer by channelling his chakra into the lock. He opened the drawer, which held a black fox mask. He took it out and wiped it with a piece of cloth that was on the table. The mask was an exquisite piece of art. It was rounded and had two equal triangles for ears. Its whiskers were gold and had a light tinge of red to it. The slits of the mask, or also known as the eyeholes, were outlined with a blood red. The way the mask seemed to absorb light while gleaming lightly was entrancing. He glanced at it with a satisfied look before he put it on his face, using chakra to stick the mask onto his face. He then closed the drawer and it locked automatically. He went to the cloak hanger and took his katana and wakizashi and strapped it to his waist, next to his scroll and kunai pouches. He then, took the grey cloak and slipped it on before he threw on the hood. He placed his hand on the wall where a seal was painted and charged it with some chakra before he disappeared without the use of any handseals. The whole apartment seemed to transform the moment he disappeared, as instant ramen cups lay strewn all over the floor. Layers of dust appeared and cobwebs formed in the corners of the room. Anyone who would walk in at this exact moment would believe that this apartment had not been cleaned in _years._

The said blonde appeared in the Hokage's office where the Hokage was waiting for him. Her chocolate brown eyes bore into his cerulean blue eyes, which were shadowed by the mask he wore. She knew of his status as the ANBU Captain since the previous Hokage had left her a long, long letter, which seemed like an essay that her Academy sensei would have asked to write years back, to explain his case. About who and what he really was. It was amazing. Not the letter but the boy. He had been on active duty even before his 'friends' had entered their first year of Academy. He had a record that surpassed every single prodigy or genius that was produced and hailed by the village and its people.

"Naruto," said the Godaime Hokage.

Naruto bowed a slight bow to which the Hokage nodded as acknowledgement. Tsunade sighed mentally. It had been direct orders from the old man to act as a genin to gain some 'childhood experiences'. Though Naruto would not tell the old man, he felt that it had already been too late for him to experience _childhood _like Sandaime had put it. Naruto being the cautious one he is, refused to reveal his true self and maintained the mask of an idiotic ramen addicted dobe. At first, he sent a reinforced kage bunshin to the Academy as he continued his missions with his team. That was until, the Hokage threatened to remove him from his post.

The real Naruto was the polar opposite of the Naruto that everyone else knew... the one that she had first met when he was on that mission with her old teammate to drag her back to Konoha, which was a success because she was now sitting in the Hokage's office... on the Hokage's chair. She knew that the Naruto before her was real. At least, as real as he could possibly be. He was silent and enjoyed being silent though he would reply and answer whenever he felt that he was required to. He was in fact, as good a tactician as Shikamaru could be. He enjoyed reading and spending time within the forests for meditation.

"So how was your day, Naruto?" asked the slug summoner.

"Not good. It's starting to annoy me. I stood there at the designated place, not only to wait for that useless jounin instructor but also for the Uchiha and his pink nuisance. I have to tell you this Tsunade-sama, that jounin's quirks makes him as a _very unreliable _jounin instructor," said Naruto. His tone was similar to Sasuke's except for the fact that it was not cold… it was just totally void of emotions.

To have felt so much until he could no longer feel was what Tsunade had summarised his condition as. Though he could be a very good actor with all his fake smiles and exclamations.

"I know of that… but… Naruto… you know that you have to tell them the truth one day," said Tsunade with an audible sigh. The blonde pulled the mask of gently before he sat down on the chair opposite of the Hokage. He raised a fine eyebrow.

"_Which_ truth?" asked the younger blonde.

"Everything," replied the Hokage who rested her head on her palm.

"I have the choice not to. Otou-sama did say that," said Naruto, "Before he…"

Naruto broke off as his cerulean blue eyes turned cloudy. Thoughts of his father, Yondaime Hokage, Kazama Arashi, filtered through his mind.

"Hmph. It's amazing actually… the way the mind of Kazama Arashi works. He knew that a child's chakra coils complete its formation when he or she reaches puberty and any changes can be made before the chakra coils were stable so he made his choice and sealed it within you," said Tsunade, "Have you ever thought of revealing your true age?"

The blonde teen remained silent. His cerulean blue eyes looked glazed over as if he was in deep thought. Tsunade shook her blonde head slowly.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Secretly passed the Academy at the age of six after one year in the Academy. Became chuunin at eight, ANBU at ten and ANBU Captain at Eleven. That is an impressive record isn't it?" voiced the Hokage, thoughtfully, "But for it to remain hidden like that… is a waste is it not?"

Naruto gazed straight into Tsunade's chocolate brown eyes but otherwise remained unresponsive and silent.

"Why don't you want to move back _home?_" asked Tsunade.

"…There's no point. Otou-sama is not there anymore… and Okaa-sama has never been there… since she died at childbirth," said Naruto, "The place is empty. Besides, I enjoy living where I do. It's quiet and no one except maybe Kakashi and you know of it though I would prefer that Kakashi did not know of it."

The Hokage stood up and walked towards the ANBU Captain that sat before her. She kneeled down and placed a hand on his whiskered cheek gently. Her chocolate brown eyes softened as she looked into his pools of cerulean blue, which flickered with doubt and pain that no one her age should have had to experience.

"But you cannot say that you enjoy living like this," said Tsunade, "Return to your true life Naruto. Return to the life you were meant to live."

Naruto tensed. His insecure blue eyes seemed to cloud over.

"I…" started Naruto but stopped. His eyes flitted to the side towards the door before he put on the fox mask quickly. He signalled for Tsunade to return to the desk, which she did unquestioningly. She knew that he had extremely sensitive sensory skills but the fact that he could sense someone she couldn't still made her sulk like a little child mentally. She was a sannin AND a Hokage and she had a _gaki_ who was almost half her age who could possibly rival her strength. She sighed mentally while she cursed whoever it was that was approaching her office. She was about to get an answer from him, damn it! She took a piece of paper from the stack of paperwork and started to read it while Naruto just stood behind her like any other ANBU Captain on duty would. But, of course, Naruto was her 'bodyguard' at most times except for when he had to go for C-class missions with his 'team'.

Just as she had finished that piece of paperwork and was about to deliver it to the Outbox rack, she _finally _sensed the person coming. She almost rammed her head on the table, wondering how he could sense the approaching person who had such a small chakra reserve. The said person opened the door hurriedly without even knocking, which peeved Tsunade. She hated rude people. Oh no, she did not hate _weak _people but she loathed weak _and _rude people who could not admit their weakness and would not respect those who were obviously stronger than them. Her eyebrow twitched slightly when she saw that it was the pink haired kunoichi, which she could remember as Naruto's oh-so-loving teammate. The one who _always _hit him whenever he spoke the truth about the Uchiha. She glanced at Naruto from the corner of her eyes. He had not even _twitched _when the pink haired girl entered the room. He simply could not care. His mind had immediately registered her as the 'Useless pink haired nuisance of a kunoichi wannabe' when they had first met. Now, she had been upgraded to the 'love sick unmistakably lame pink haired excuse for a kunoichi, which degraded the name of other kunoichi out there'. He knew that kunoichi had the potential to become as strong as or even stronger than shinobi. For instance, Hebi who was in his team and Tsunade. They were very capable of defeating a fair share of shinobi and being love struck was not a way to achieve that level of power. It took really hard work since most kunoichi were born with small chakra reserves that enabled them to excellent chakra control from the beginning.

"What do you want… Haruno Sakura?" asked Tsunade in a neutral tone.

The girl's eyes filled up with fresh tears as she stammered; "S-Sasuke-k-kun l-left."

Tsunade sighed mentally while remaining her indifferent façade on the outside. To be frank, she could not care less about that Uchiha and his 'I must avenge my clan. I am an avenger' thing he had. But, she would not endanger Konohagakure by allowing that snake bastard to sink his fangs into the boy and achieve the sharingan. She turned to face the ANBU Captain who simply nodded and disappeared.

"Now Haruno Sakura… get out," said Tsunade with a tone of finality, which frightened the girl. Sakura sniffled before she asked, "Aren't you going to do _anything?_ It's _Sasuke-kun_ after all."

"In case you have not noticed, I sent my ANBU to go and recruit people who are available at the moment to go and bring back _the Uchiha_," said Tsunade in an annoyed tone. 'Though I could not care less about that brat,' added Tsunade silently. She narrowed her eyes, which developed a sudden cold glint that flickered in her eyes. Sakura took a step back in fright. She had not realised that Tsunade was different from the Sandaime until this very moment. The blonde was not as soft as the old man was but she was not harsh like Danzou. She was just being… strict like a leader should be, compassionate but strict and would handle no nonsense from the ninja under her. Sakura nodded before she fled the room.

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Naruto appeared at the doorstep of Nara Shikato's house. He rang the doorbell and was answered with a, 'Hai! I'm coming!' from Shikato's wife. The door creaked open and the housewife took one look at him and asked, "Do you want Shikato?"

Naruto shook his head and said, "No. Shikato-san has just returned from a mission. I require your son, Nara Shikamaru for this mission, Nara-san."

The housewife nodded and hollered. "Shikamaru! Come down now!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," grumbled the newly appointed chuunin who had his black hair done in a 'pineapple' style, "Mendokuse…" He walked over with a lazy expression with his hands in his pockets. The lazy genius took one look at the ANBU before a slight serious expression appeared on his otherwise lazy face.

"Okaa-san. You can go back to your chores now," said Shikamaru. His mother nodded and walked back towards the kitchen. He then turned to face the masked ANBU that stood at _least _three inches above him. He couldn't really tell without a measuring tape.

It was amazing what a baggy jumpsuit; a slouching position and a touch of illusion could do to hide the _real _Naruto from the rest of Konohagakure.

"Nara Shikamaru. You have a mission that will start the moment I finish briefing you. You need to recruit as many genin as possible and retrieve an Uchiha Sasuke who has left the village," said Naruto.

"Uchiha? He left? When?" asked Shikamaru.

"We were informed by his teammate Haruno Sakura that he had left some time in the middle of the night last night," explained Naruto.

Shikamaru nodded as his brain processed the information that had been given to him.

"Why genin?" asked Shikamaru after a while.

"Because all chuunin and jounin are either at a mission or they have just returned and are resting, like your father. And if you're about to ask why not hunter-nin or ANBU? It is not our duty to babysit useless children who get corrupted by the mere thought of power," said Naruto with a tone of finality.

Shikamaru simply nodded and said, "I understand." Though his mind said, 'You don't look much older than us though…'

Naruto simply nodded before he disappeared like the wind. The Nara simply stared into space and pondered the choices of genin available that were probably strong enough to face any possible difficulties in the mission. It may have sound simple to normal person but Shikamaru could catch the faint hints of possible trouble in the ANBU's words. He frowned and sighed before he said, "This is so troublesome."

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Naruto reappeared before Tsunade once more. Tsunade was about to say something when Naruto cut her off. He took off the mask and looked straight into her brown eyes with his blue ones.

"Tsunade-sama. I have to inform you… this is the last mission that I will be taking as Uzumaki Naruto. When I return… we will discuss some issues… is that alright?" asked Naruto.

Tsunade closed her mouth and grinned widely.

"Of course… Kitsune. Now go back and prepare yourself as you are a possible candidate of Shikamaru's," said Tsunade.

"Maybe. Maybe not. I am just the dobe after all," said Naruto as his eyes had a faraway gaze. "Just… a dobe…" he muttered under his breath but it did not go unnoticed by Tsunade.

"… Just go and whack up that Uchiha and come back alive Kitsune. He has a cursed seal… and I'm worried that he might…" said Tsunade.

"… Don't worry, I have my own 'cursed seal' that will help me willingly," said Naruto.

"You know… your relation with the Kyuubi disturbs me greatly," said Tsunade.

"It's alright. I thought that I had explained nii-sama's case to you, Tsunade-sama," replied Naruto who was glad that the fox was currently asleep.

After a moment, he added, "And… permission to release limiter seal?"

"…I don't think that you'll need to do that. It is only Sasuke with, probably, a few of the snake's henchmen… I don't think that you need the rest of your chakra. You can release it if you need it in the midst of any possible battle," said Tsunade.

"… But I only have access to forty percent, since I lost to Orochimaru with only twenty percent. And I cannot use youki supplied by nii-sama, should I run out, for long Tsunade-sama," said Naruto, "Also it takes a long time and a long series of handseals to release it."

"… But you don't need handseals," deadpanned Tsunade.

"Maintaining the image Tsunade-sama. I'm just maintaining the façade," said Naruto.

"Drop it," ordered Tsunade as she slammed her hands on the table when she stood up abruptly, "You're going to be returning to your _real _life Naruto!"

Naruto glared at the Hokage and said, "I did mention that we _will _discuss the _terms and conditions **if**_I am to drop the façade, the illusion and everything else!"

The Hokage buried her hands into her palms as she sighed and said, "Fine. Just go and get ready."

Naruto placed the mask back in place before he performed the shunshin and disappeared.

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Chapter I Owari.

I know that I should be focusing on Undoing and Rebuilding the Past… but this was supposed to be put up on my birthday but there happened to be some sort of error that did not allow me to post this.

This idea wouldn't leave me no matter how hard I tried to put it aside……… At this moment… I'm brainstorming for ideas for Undoing and Rebuilding the Past. I have finished Point A, which is up to where I am now in that fanfiction but I cannot seem to connect it to point B, which I have already completed. It's like a whole chunk isn't there and I don't know how to fill it up…

So I could use some ideas and stuff… you could post it in the Undoing and Rebuilding the Past forum. The address is in my profile… and I really hope for some inspiration.

But I promise you that I am seriously working on it as much as possible.

Kagetsuki Tsukishiro 

Please review, ne?


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